We proudly present to you the second issue of THE LATCHKEY. A lot of work has been done in the last few months to organize and establish our nascent new journal, the only one of its kind devoted to the figure of the New Woman in fin-de-siècle and early modernist literature, culture, art, politics, and history. Perhaps our most exciting piece of news is that THE LATCHKEY has moved ahead with its plan to become a fully refereed, peer-reviewed journal that publishes scholarly articles and book reviews, as well as items of interest to general readers. We now invite submissions for our next two issues, Spring and Autumn 2010. Please see our general Call for Papers and Submission Guidelines and feel free to send preliminary enquiries or questions about our policies to unbolt@gmail.com. All articles will undergo double blind peer review, and the first set of essays will be published in our third issue, Spring 2010.

In the meantime, we are very happy to offer you an interesting palette of new items for your reading and viewing pleasure in our current issue. Highlights include

Book Reviews

Elizabeth Carolyn Miller’s Framed: the New Woman Criminal in British Culture at the Fin de Siècle. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008. Reviewed by Emily Alder, review commissioned by Jessica Cox.

“Teaching the historical roots of the feminist social and cultural controversy: Mary Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill, and the New Woman” (by Petra Dierkes-Thrun)

You’ll also find updates to our recurring sections:

New Women: Who’s Who, an ongoing project of a list of New Woman figures accompanied, in some cases, by relevant web links for further information.

The Whine Cellar, where we collect whimsical, satirical quotations about the New Woman.

Bibliography, an ongoing bibliography of primary works by New Women writers and cultural agents as well as criticism and scholarship on the New Woman.

Please note that we expressly invite readers to send us texts, ideas, or materials for the Teaching Resources, Featured New Women, Gallery, and Whine Cellar sections, which are kept somewhat more impromptu and informal than the essays, book reviews, and New Woman bibliography we publish. Furthermore, please continue to send us any relevant news and announcements you wish us to post on our website.

We warmly welcome all your suggestions and additions to our pages and now look forward to your scholarly contributions with baited breaths.